Support for pendant fixtures



K. VERSEN SUPPORT FOR PENDANT FIXTURES July 25, 1950 Filed Sept. 9, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'INVENTOR. KURT VEQSEN ATTORNEY July 25, 1950' K. VERSEN SUPPORT FOR PENDANT FIXTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 9, 1949 INVENTOR. KUQ vERsEN BY M 7,

. A TToQA/El Patented July 25, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,516,661 SUHOET FOR PENDANT FIXTURES Kurt Versen, flenafiy, N. J. Application September 9, 1949, Serial N 0. 114,752

The present invention deals with ceiling supports for pendant fixtures and is concerned more particularly with such supports for electrical lighting fixtures.

Pendant ceiling fixtures must depend from the ceiling in a straight perpendicular line. same time such fixtures must not depend in a rigid manner but must have sufiicient give so and the like, but so far in actual practice the ball,

swivel has not been effectively improved upon.

The swivels for ceiling lamps usually project below a canopy which covers the electrical wiring and fixture fastenings at the area below which the lamp is suspended or secured. Other types of swivels are contained within a canopy, but in such case necessitate a bulky canopy, and will cause the canopy to move with the stem and swivel action and leave rubbing marks on the ceiling. Neither a visible swivel nor a bulky canopy are desirable since both interfere with the effectiveness of ceiling design in that the canopy or swivel is entirely too obvious and detracts from the desired effect to the extent that the design is interrupted by the un'sightlin'ess 'of the canopy or swivel. Furthermore, the more dosirable lamp swivels heretofore l'moivn, e. g. ball joint swivels, although being only partly visible, are disadvantageous in that they are too limited in the degree of swing provided by the swivel. With a very limited degree of swing, the service ing of the fixture, during which the 'fi'xture may be forced from its straight hanging or vertical position, 'may cause a harmful strain on the fixture or dislodge the fixture from "the ceiling. Likewise, any limited degree 'of swing limits the ability of the fixture to overcome shocks injuse or to permit plumb suspension on slanted ceilings. On the other hand with a substantially greater degree of swing, any strain or force upon the pendant lamp is taken up only by the swivel and protects against harmful strain on the fixture or dislodgement of the fixture. Any resilient ar rangement must, however, take into considera- At the,

5 Claims. (01. 248-343) I tion the sensitivity of the electrical conductor,

which is part of the fixture, to twisting and damage of either the conductor itself or its insulation.

It is one object of this invention to provide a support for pendant fixtures including a swivel which shall permit the fixture to hang downwardly in a perfectly straight line and which shall be simple to construct and allow the use of shallow and neat canopies.

It is another object of this invention to provide such support which shall have a high degree of swing and which shall, nevertheless, be such as to avoid injury to the electrical conductor wire or its insulation. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such support em:- bodying an efficient, economical and simplified swivel easy to manufacture and install. Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the description thereof hereinafter following and the drawings, forming part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section of the support including swivel according to the present invention, and cooperating parts therefor,

Fig. 2 represents a side view, partly in section, of the swivel body,

Fig. represents an elevatlonal View of a component of the swivel forming part of the invenion,

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the support of the invention in slightly modified form,

5 represents a sectional View of another form of part of the invention, and

Fig. 6 represents a sectional view of another modification of the invention.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated the support of the invention mounted in the ceiling l by means of a metal ceiling fastening member 2 having a substantially U-shaped form with its sides positioned parallel to the ceiling l and having a threaded aperture 3 which cooperates with one end of a correspondingly threaded outer surface of a metal tubular member or nipple 4. The fastening member 2. at the aperture 3 and the nipple 4 are preferably staked to form an inseparable unit. The member ll is preferably threaded over its entire outer surface to insure proper contact of the canopy 5 with the ceiling I regardless of the depth between the structure 2 and the ceiling 1. Any excess length of the member 3 over that required in any particular case can, of course be sawed off. .The other or lower end of the tubular member is provided with a locking means or look nut 6 to securely lock thereto a substantially short and thick-walled tubular swivel housing 1, which is threaded at least partly on its inner surface 8 to cooperate with the member 4 and which is also threaded on a lower portion of its outer surface 9 to engage a locking means or lock nut H! which positions and secures the canopy 5 against the ceiling I. The upper portion of the swivel housing I is provided with two diametrical apertures H, in the form of slots, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The slots engage and retain a wire I2, preferably made of steel, and having a major portion substantially U-shaped or V-shaped and extremities l3 outwardly curved or bent so that said extremities rest in the-slots while the central portion of the wire lies below the slot. The housing 1 and the nipple 4 are preferably so screwed together-that the lower end of the nipple 4 bears against the ends I3 of the clip 12 and thus holds them firmly in position.

The clip I2 is of short length, for example a length sufiicient for positioning into the slots H of a swivel housing having an inside diameter of inch. However, the swivel housing may have any suitable diameter and the wire may have-any suitable thickness within the scope of the present invention. A similarly shaped wire clip l4, inverted with respect to the wire [2, suspends from wire l2, and its extremities l5'are sprung into two apertures H5 (in the form of orifices or holes) of a metal tubular hanger H which supports a fixture, not shown. The outer diameter of the tubular hanger I1 is somewhat smaller than the inner diameter of the swivel housing 1. The two holes 16 and the upper portion of the hanger I! lie within the swivel housing I so' that the swivel formed by the wires l2 and I4 is a hidden swivel substantially free-swinging as is apparent from the drawings. The swivel formed by the wires is free-swinging in all directions and limited in the degree of swing only by the distance by which the upper end of the hanger l! extends upwardly into the swivel housing and the diameter of the han er tube portion inside the swivel housing. I prefer to provide the swivel of my invention with a swing of at least 20 degrees, from the vertical, in all directions by choosing a hanger diameter substantially less than the inside diameter of said swivel housing, e. g. a hanger tube having at least an upper portion of inch overall didistances above stated are changeable depending upon the degree of swing desired. One method of increasing the swing is to provide a deeper V-shaped wire as shown in Fig. 3. Another method is to choose a hanger tube having a smaller overall diameter. Any combinations of the above mentioned methods are applicable.

The conductors 24 and 24 pass through the entire assembly downwardly to the depending fixture (not shown). Due to the firm assembly, without any loose or detached parts, the conductors are safe from twisting and consequent injury to the insulation or the wire itself.

In the exploded view of Fig. 4 I have illustrated another method of attaching the support of my invention. In this case the swivel housing I from which the swiveling tubular hanger l1 depends, is held in place by insertion through the orifice N3 of a cross-strap l9 screwed by means of slots 20 to a ceiling outlet box, not shown, and held by threaded lock nut 2|.

The cross-strap B is preferably provided at its orifice I 8 with two bosses 22. The hole 18 has suflicient clearance for the swivel body or housing 1 and the bosses 22 check into the slots 1! of the swivel housing 1 and prevent the wire clip l2 with its ends 13 from becoming detached or loose and from twisting.

In Fig. 5 I have shown another form of securing the clip l2 in the swivel housing 1. In this case there is no slot, but the clip ends l3 are sprung into lateral apertures 23 where they are held in position by the spring-action of the clip against the wall of the aperture.

Fig. 6 represents a modification, where the entire swivel arrangement is hidden within the ceiling, eliminating entirely the necessity of any canopy in the usual sense. The assembly is similar to that of Fig. 4 except that the crossstrap 25 is reversed, compared with the crossstrap IS in Fig. 4. In the form shown this reversed cross-strap is secured to an outlet box 26 mounted within or above the ceiling I, e. g. by means of screws 21 and 21 passing through the standard screw eyes of the box. Instead of a curved canopy I can then cover up the opening by means of a simple fiat plate 28, e. g. in the form of a disk with a central annular opening 30 to permit the passage of the swivel body 1 and so forth. The disk may be held in place by 30" ceiling, and the cover plate or fiat canopy is substantially flush with the ceiling.

Various modifications are, of course, possible in the principle of the invention. In some cases it may be desirable to supplement the holding in position of the clip I2 by providing a small spring ring inside the swivel body above the ends I3 of the clip. The aperture or slot may run through the entire thickness of the wall of the swivel housing I, as shown, or it may be only partly into the wall of the housing, as in the nature of an indentation or groove. Where, e. g. there is an aperture in the form of an orifice, as in Fig. 6, the bosses 22 of Fig. 4 may run in an outside groove and with or without contact with the ends (3 of the clip E2.

The V-shaped clip form, as illustrated, is preferable over a more shallow U-shaped form, as it is stronger and not subject to deformation when a substantial downward pull is exerted thereon.

The support according to my invention provides the required swinging action for the pendant electrical lighting fixture, so as to permit the fixture to adjust itself to a perfectly straight perpendicular line, by means of a simple swivel involving the utilization of a pair of curved wire clips, each of substantially U or V shape, inverted relative to each other, engagin each other to form a link and being mounted within a short swivel housing secured to or within a support member located in or above the ceiling, the ends of the clips being secured in position in an aperture, such as an orifice or a slot, in such manner as to be in a fixed position in use after assembly. Rubbing marks on the ceiling are avoided. The swivel housing itself may be located within the ceiling or just below the ceiling and covered by the customary curved canopy'or even by a fiat canopy or plate. Depending from the swivel housing and attached to the swivel clip members is a customary free swinging hanger at the lower end of which the fixture is mounted.

The entire assembly is easily assembled and is easily accessible. It is inherently capable of being manufactured of small size and, therefore, requires only a small, and consequently very sightly, canopy. The swivel arrangement is such that it need not project, even in part, below the small canopy and is, therefore, positioned within the canopy, or even concealed behind the ceiling, and, in either case, hidden from view. The swivelling action occurs, therefore, within the space of or above the canopy, rather than below the canopy.

The hanger member i! does not require any threading, as is customary with other types of swivel supports, and thus it is possible to use a far thinner-walled hanger than has been employed heretofore, since it is no longer necessary to provide for a tubing sufiiciently thick-walled to permit the threading and yet remain sulficiently strong. An ancillary advantage of this factor, apart from the greater sightliness of the thinner hanger tubing, is that it is possible to employ light-weight material, such as aluminum, in place of the stronger steel or brass heretofore used.

The swivel, likewise, will not interfere with the electrical conductors and does not cause any intertwisting of the wiring.

What I claim is:

1. A support for pendant ceiling fixtures comprising a ceiling fastening member, a tubular fixture hanger and a swivel housing including swivel means, said swivel means consisting of a pair of interlinked curved wire clips with outwardly projecting ends, one of said wire clips forming an upper member and the other of said wire clips forming a suspended lower member of said swivel, the extremities of said upper member resting in apertures provided within the wall of said swivel housing, and the extremities of said lower member being seated within apertures provided within the wall of said fixture hanger, the outer diameter of said fixture hanger being smaller than the inner diameter of said swivel housing.

2. A support for pendant ceiling fixtures according to claim 1, wherein the upper part of said fixture hanger including its apertures is located within the swivel housing.

3. A support for pendant ceiling fixtures, comprising a ceiling fastening member, a tubular 5 fixture hanger and a swivel housing including swivel means, said swivel means consisting of a pair of interlinked curved wire clips with outwardly projecting ends, one of said wire clips forming an upper member and the other of said wire clips forming a suspended lower member of said swivel, the extremities of said upper member resting in apertures provided within the wall of said swivel housing, and the extremities of said lower member being seated within apertures provided within the wall of said fixture hanger, the outer diameter of said fixture hanger bein smaller than the inner diameter of said swivel housing, the outwardly projecting ends of the upper member being fixed in position by means of the ceiling fastening member bearing downwardly against such ends.

4. A support for pendant ceiling fixtures, comprising a ceiling fastening member, a tubular fixture hanger and a swivel housing including swivel means and a ceiling canopy, said swivel means consisting of a pair of interlinked curved wire clips with outwardly projecting ends, one of said wire clips forming an upper member and the other of said wire clips forming a suspended lower member of said swivel, the extremities of said upper member resting in apertures provided within the wall of said swivel housing, and the extremities of said lower member being seated within apertures provided within the-wall of said fixture hanger, the outer diameter of said fixture hanger being smaller than the inner diameter of said swivel housing, said swivel housing and its swivel means being concealed within said canopy.

5. A support for pendant fixtures, comprising a ceiling fastening member secured to an outlet box within a ceiling, a tubular fixture hanger, a swivel housing including swivel means, and a substantially flat ceiling plate, the said swivel housing, including swivel means, being concealed in the ceiling, the said fiat plate being substantially fiush with the ceiling.

KURT VERSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 405,742 Arford June 25, 1889 1,742,438 DOlier Jan. '7, 1930 2,321,640 Adkins June 15, 1943 

